Reed criticizes breakup with Spieth at Ryder Cup

Patrick Reed blasted decisions made by captain Jim Furyk and others in the wake of the weekend Ryder Cup loss suffered by the ballyhooed U.S. team.

In an interview with the New York Times after the U.S. lost to Europe 17½-10½ on Sunday, Reed said he was “blindsided” when he found out he wouldn’t be paired with previous partner Jordan Spieth at Le Golf National.

Ian Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Reed, the Masters champion, said decisions were made via the “buddy system” and that only a few players were consulted about the pairings.

The Times said that Reed implied that meant Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods had Furyk’s ear instead of the younger golfers; the two Ryder Cup veterans are on a Ryder Cup committee formed four years ago.

Spieth, 25, was paired with Justin Thomas while Reed played with Woods. The Spieth-Thomas partnership finished 3-1, while Woods and Reed went 0-2. Reed, 28, won his singles match over Tyrrell Hatton on Sunday.

“The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me,” said Reed, who added, “I don’t have any issue with Jordan. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me, as long as it works and sets up the team for success.

“He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”

Reed also didn’t play every match, perhaps in part because of his more recent struggles. Since the U.S. Open in June, he cracked the top 20 on the PGA tour only once.

“For somebody as successful in the Ryder Cup as I am, I don’t think it’s smart to sit me,” he said.

Two years ago at Hazeltine, the Reed-Spieth grouping produced a 2-1-1 record. At Gleneagles in 2014, they were 2-0-1. They also have finished 8-1-3 in Presidents Cup play.

But Reed occasionally has made comments that could have irked Spieth. A few times, Reed seemingly has joked that he “carried” Spieth in their prior victories.

In a news conference on Sunday, Spieth praised Furyk and his communication with the golfers.

“We were totally involved with every decision that was made,” Spieth said. “Jim allowed it to be a player-friendly environment. And we were involved, and we thought that the (top) teams came out of our four-man squad [Reed, Spieth, Woods and Thomas]. We had two potentially fantastic teams, and we went out and tried to play our best.”